by Taylor Fernandes ’14

Behind the walls of Sherwood lie many different cliques, each holding its own required wardrobe. If you were to visit Sherwood and tried to figure out how to group students by their appearances, here’s is some of what you would see.

Venturing into the school, you find a football player standing around. He’s sporting a skin tight Under Armour shirt, paired with loose shorts and long socks with slides. The basketball players aren’t far off, rocking the same loose shorts and long socks, but with a t-shirt and basketball shoes. Of every sport our school offers, the lacrosse players are the easiest to recognize. If you see one, he’ll probably be wearing a pair of pastel shorts with a button-up shirt, complemented by a pair of long socks and Sperrys to finish off the outfit.

Outside the athletic world, we have the “fake rednecks.” Now what classifies someone as one of these is still very unclear, but most of them seem to be wearing camouflage printed clothing, which range from hats to t-shirts, along with a pair of work boots. And don’t forget the necessary fish hooks on their hats as an accessory. While you’re trying to make your way out of the group of people in camouflage (they blend in so well), you hear the obnoxious sound of high heels.

You figure it’s a teacher, until you realize a teacher wouldn’t be wearing a skirt that is barely long enough to do what bottom pieces are supposed to do. You’ve just met a “try-hard.” And the opposite of a “try-hard,” is those who claim they “want to be comfortable because it’s just school.” They’re usually wearing sweatpants, or gym shorts if it’s hot, along with flip flops and a t-shirt and with their hair pulled up in a messy bun.

Fashion trends come and go, so of course there’s one group of girls that MUST be up to date on the latest style. Unfortunately, there’s a domino effect: one girl buys the outfit and the next day, 50 girls are in the same exact get-up. Well, besides the group of people who are hardcore band-lovers; it’s band t-shirts all day, every day for these students.

Finally, there are the “preppy girls.” You know the ones with perfectly straightened hair and who never seem to wear the same clothes twice? It’s usually some fancy pair of shorts with an expensive looking top, all of which perfectly match with their shoes.

Regardless of whether you’re a football or ‘lax’ player, and whether or not you’re actually from the South, or try too hard, or try too little, and no matter how many hours you put into your outfit, chances are, if you wear stereotypical attire, you’re labeled. Welcome to high school.